Grandad gave me this photo, taken on the 28th of October 1961, several years before he passed away. At the time I wondered why, as I already had lots of photos of him, but he told me he wanted me to have this one. Since then this pic has been in an exhibition and grandad has appeared in one of our film projects. At the after-party held at the Saatchi Gallery after the premier, where grandad was treated as the Hero of The Night, everyone called him grandad - he loved it! He was unapologetic about his views and everyone who met him loved him. He influences me every day. He was a gentleman.
My Grandad Keith
Grandad disliked most white people, especially those of his own generation. He came to the UK from Jamaica in the early 1960s, during the Windrush era. I will leave you to imagine what he had to put up with at the time and how that shaped his views.
I remember I was a little nervous when I invited my partner (who is not Black) to meet grandad for the first time at one of our family games nights of Dominoes and Ludo, with jerk chicken, rice and peas, steamed-fish, salads, plantains, and ice-cold Red Stripe beer, rum punch, and other Caribbean delights. It turned out I needn’t have worried. Grandad loved Irish people on account of reading that same note way back when.
You know the one? Yes, that one.
Grandad was a baker. He also loved gardening. His front room was a tropical oasis of flowering plants running up walls and across the ceiling. He was both a firm and gentle man, with his bit of racist views, but I still love my grandad. He had his reasons. He died six years ago, and I still miss him.
Much debate has been had on whether it’s ok to touch a Black person’s hair. It’s never ok without asking and being given the permission to do so.
I don’t mind being asked about my hair, or having it touched, if I can also touch your hair back. I’m curious about all types of hair.
For instance, does blond, brown, or red hair feel different to the touch? My husband has dark brown (now mostly grey) hair, but I can’t remember if I’ve ever touched blond hair before. Is it true blond hair can become even more white if you rub lemon juice on it and spend time in the sun?
What about Asian hair, what are the products you swear by?
I have 4C hair. But 3C, how do you keep yours from not drying out?
Everyone. What is good hair?
I’m often asked about my Afro. Here are some facts. To get this style I usually do the following after washing and drying my hair.
I use three combs to get it to a lovely puffball. I comb it out with a large-tooth comb to get out all the knots, followed by a smaller-tooth comb to get out the smaller ones trying to hide away. I then follow this up with an Afro-pic comb for about 15 minutes, spraying various oils and water-based spritz all over it, while combing and shaping it.
It takes about 30-45 minutes all-in. This is not to be confused with my other favourite style though - the get out of bed, spritz, ruffle it up a bit and finish with a front flick.
Now you know what I get up to in the mornings. What about you?
Let’s discuss grandads and hair.
Sherry Collins
